Where to put speakers [with pictures!] and 6.1

Montesinnos

Hello folks,
I'm setting speakers in my condo and I'd like some advice regarding back speakers.

I have 3 pairs of Polk RC85i and I am (will be using) them all of the channels.
What would you suggest me to put the back speakers? Check attached photo of the room. It appears I have 3 options:

RED - Side walls (very small on the right side, though)
GREEN - High by the vaulted ceiling
YELLOW - Right by the person's ears


In addition, since RC85i's are only sold in pairs, I have an extra one (came with the center speakers). Should I just plugged it as a surround back speaker? The 6th channel? Or that's not worth it?



Full Album: http://imgur.com/a/lVGjK#2

Thank you so much!!!

B Run

I'd personally go a little above yellow and a little below green, and stick with 5.1, just my .02. Welcome to the forum!

Montesinnos

Thank you, sir!

Would you still stick with 5.1 even though you have the speaker sitting there and most likely would otherwise give it away?

DaveHo

With the sofa against the wall you really can't do a back channel effectively. Now if you could move it out 3-4 ft then I'd consider it.

Secondly, why in-walls? If it were me I'd put some small bookies on tall stands & place them to the sides, even with the seated listeners head. One on the other side of the table & one along what appears to be a wall in the right of your picture. You can make up for the different distances using the delay settings in your AVR/processor.

-Dave

Montesinnos

Unfortunately, this is a very small condo and this room is used for everything (entertainment, dining, crafts, work, everything else you can imagine). So, every single inch of this room is important. Getting in-wall speakers was one of the solutions to not "waste" space in the room.

I understand what you said about the couch touching the wall. I believe the best I can do is 1 ft away from it.

Thanks for all the input!

begbie

Small satellite speakers on speaker wall brackets to the far left and right of seating area. Maybe one satellite speaker above you. Still save precious floor space and get better sound over the in-walls

Emlyn

You'd probably have a structural problem trying to put an in-wall speaker on the right wall in the photo. If that's a patio door on that side there should be a solid header above it. You'd need at least three inches inside the wall to put a speaker in there.

Given that the RC85i's have tweeters that can be aimed, I'd recommend putting the surround speakers in the rear wall maybe a foot higher up and spaced a little wider than the green circles in the photo. Aim the tweeters toward the side walls and you'll get a diffuse surround sound effect. Trouble with in-wall speakers is you can't move them around to test them out to see how they sound. You might want to consult a pro on this one. Also, if you're going to have to fish speaker wires in the condo walls you might run into fire breaks in the walls depending on local building codes. Whatever you do, given the odd size and shape of the room, you'll need a receiver with a good room compensation system to adjust the timing and distance for the speakers.

Mantis (member on this forum) might have some good advice on placement.

B Run

Good call on the header, i'm a home inspector and didn't even notice that.

hosedagain

with speakers in the wall you might get complaints from your neighbors as the sound might travel in the wall and into their unit.

chumlie

B Run wrote: »

I'd personally go a little above yellow and a little below green, and stick with 5.1, just my .02. Welcome to the forum!

Same answer and yes 5.1, so loose the spare speakers or put them in your bedroom.